Environmental impact of car production strongly reduced over last decade

Brussels, 12 July 2018 – The latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shows that auto makers have significantly reduced the environmental impact of manufacturing over the last decade, even though the number of cars produced increased from 11.9 million in 2013 to 17 million in 2017.

The new figures, recently published in ACEA’s Automobile Industry Pocket Guide, show that total CO2 emissions from car production fell by nearly 24% since 2008. This is significant, as manufacturers succeeded in decoupling CO2 emissions from production growth, for instance by sourcing energy from renewable and low-carbon sources.

In addition, for each car produced over the last decade, water consumption was reduced by some 31%. This was achieved notably by using recirculation technologies for the re-use of water and other long-term strategies for limiting water consumption.

As cars have become equipped with ever more features to make them cleaner, safer and smarter, vehicle production has become more complex. Despite this, the energy consumption per car produced decreased by almost 16% over the last 10 years. The amount of waste generated per car produced went down by nearly 14% during the same period.

"This positive track record demonstrates the automobile industry’s strong commitment to reducing the environmental impact of both the use of its vehicles as well as production processes," stated ACEA Secretary General, Erik Jonnaert. "It is part of an ongoing and multifaceted strategy, which all European manufacturers adhere to."